We all have heard information or read articles about the benefits of exercising for our heart. Fitness enthusiasts spend time at the gym doing their “cardio” sessions. Elderly people are told by their doctors to take daily walks. Endurance athletes’ lower resting pulse rates are supposedly advantageous to their health. But is there any scientific research or data that corroborates this?
One of the more interesting concepts is that of the “Billion Heart Beats.” This is an observation that all mammals living in the wild tend to have a life expectancy equivalent to their heart beating on average about one billion times. Squirrels only live a few years, wild horses perhaps thirty years and elephants around seventy years, but their hearts all beat for a similar number of times. For humans this would equate to only thirty years but nutrition and medical care have stretched our average lifespan in the developed world two and one half times to an average of 2.5 billion heart beats.
Now comes the question to ponder – if we can lower our heart rate will we extend our lifespan? If the concept that a general average number of heart beats is what we are preordained with is true, then a lower resting pulse would add years of life, all things being equal. Let’s go “back to school” and do a little math and see what we come up with.
A typical 40 year-old with a resting pulse of 70 has about 40 years of life remaining according to mortality tables. This translates to 1.47 billion heart beats (70bpm x 60 min x 24 hours x 365 days x 40 years). If through regular cardiovascular exercise this 40 year-old lowers his or her resting pulse to 60 beats per minute there is a potential increase in life expectancy calculated as follows: 1.47 billion heart beats / (60bpm x 60 min x 24 hours x 365 days) = 46.6 years. That is amazing! Over six more years of life just by extending the heart’s functioning. And just think of the greater effect on one’s life expectancy if regular cardiovascular exercise has been done since childhood.
In years to come I’m sure there will be more research done on this topic and more data to support its suppositions. It’s relatively simple and makes common sense. So now when you are out for a run you may be getting more fit, preparing for competition and extending your lifespan all at once!
Trailrunnergary has 35 years of competitive running and racing experience highlighted by a marathon PR of 2:22:34. At
you will find over a dozen magazine articles, interviews with running personalities such as Greg Meyer, Bob Braman and John Tuttle and dozens of “All in a Day’s Run” essays like this one on a variety of topics that are written for a general audience of runners/joggers/walkers. The essays are only 400-600 words in length so are just "food for thought" on a topic. Please feel free to add your positive thoughts and knowledge.